One expects high camp from an adaptation of a cult classic film about fashion, with music by Elton John and starting Vanessa Williams. And to a large extent, the production delivers. It is silly and delightful and funny — at times it takes a serious turn to tackle subjects like impostor syndrome and growing up gay, but a chuckle is never far away.
Adapting a cult classic movie for the stage is tricky; you have to contend with the ghosts of a production not just that people saw or read about, but have watched repeatedly, memorising not only the script and snappy one liners, but the cadence and delivery of each beat. The West End production does a decent job at balancing this, giving faithful audience members the lines they want, while also trying to get new life out of the material.
The music is very good, enhanced by incredible performers. The lyrics and script, however, let the production down; attempts at new text fall flat, and often the rhymes in the songs feel shoehorned. The choreography and design (particularly the costumes). Where some scenes choreography is cleverly pedestrian, using runway struts and campy drag style movements to enhance the story, some scenes feel almost as if the choreo was thrown together on a lunch break, eliciting no meaning from the text or moment in the play. Similarly the costumes are uneven, some opulent, some Primark.
On the whole it isn’t a bad production — and the people it is directed to will adore the campy fun of the entire experience. You enter The Dominion Theatre and feel as if you’re at an exclusive party — house music playing, backdrop for red carpet photos, beautiful flowers and RUNWAY posters abound (a beautiful foreshadow to the most exceptional scene in the play, the Met Gala style event which echoes Phantom’s Masquerade). The performances are exceptional from all leads, and they’re supported by a generally strong chorus.
So long as you go expecting camp, not commentary, you’ll have a great time.